Posts from the “the boy’s club” Category

Chris Davies MEP has today repeated his claim that Lord Rennard, who’s currently refusing to apologise for the sexual harassment he (allegedly) perpetrated against female Lib Dem party activists, “is not Jimmy Savile.” In the interview with the BBC’s Daily Politics show Davies went on to say: “Even if the crimes, alleged offences, did take place, and he of course denies it, this is not an evil man in any sense at all, he’s a good decent man.” Meanwhile, according to Michael White at the Guardian “a clammy hand on the knee” is not quite the same thing as “slavery, female genital mutilation and other horrors (that) are still widely inflicted on women,” and we probably need to all calm down a bit and get a sense of proportion,…

This is from the whitewash, sorry I mean report, into Operation Newgreen, West Yorkshire Police’s (WYP) investigation into Jimmy Savile’s offending, and the relationship its officers had with him over the decades. The report was published yesterday: “4.9 Alongside the “Hand in a Handler” campaign, Savile was invited by the LDCSP (Leeds District Community Safety Partnership) to be involved in the ‘Talking Signs’ campaign. This involved a recording of Savile’s voice being broadcast through speakers attached to lamp posts giving local students and resident’s crime prevention advice. Savile did not receive payment for any support he provided to this or any other WYP campaigns.” If you’ve got the stomach for reading all about how no one appears to have kept any paperwork, and how…

Having read a fair few comment threads and discussions across blog sites and social networks over the past few months, I feel a need to clarify some things in respect of the Safe Space for Women statement that I co-authored with Marsha Jane back in March. First off, as the title of this post says: sometimes words really do mean what they say. Or to put it another way: nowhere in the statement do we call for the handful of people that remain in the SWP to be ‘witch-hunted’ out of our trade unions or the wider labour movement. Nowhere do we state that anyone who hasn’t signed the statement must be immediately denounced as a misogynist or a handmaiden of the patriarchy; and…

Originally posted on womeninthelabourmovement:We the undersigned labour movement activists stand in solidarity with all women opposing all forms of male violence against women. We recognise that male violence against women is endemic in society, and that our movement is obviously and unfortunately not exempt. We believe that our trade union and labour movement has the potential to transform society for the better. Therefore we have a particular responsibility to confront and challenge male violence against women within our movement. Male violence against women is not acceptable in any case. It must not be tolerated from those who hold office or power in our movement. We recognise the enormous challenges faced by women victims of male violence, and the pressures which women face, including…

There’s been some discussion online about last Saturday’s debate at UNISON’s National Women’s Conference on Motion 30: Support Rape Victims not Rape Deniers, so as the original mover of the motion at #unwc13 I thought perhaps it might be time for me to give my take on it all. * * * Personal Background First though, some personal background. The Socialist Workers Party was the first political party I ever got involved with. It was back in the early 80’s when I was 13/14 years old and just starting to get interested in politics. I’d written off to the Anti-Nazi League, whose address I’d found printed on the inside sleeve of the latest Tom Robinson Band album, and someone from the ANL who lived…

"Those of us who love reading and writing believe that being a writer is a sacred trust. It means telling the truth. It means being incorruptible. It means not being afraid, and never lying."
Andrea Dworkin

"Sex-negative feminism consists of, what, Andrea Dworkin and that weird Cath Elliott woman at the Guardian?"
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